A 12-year-old boy helped his dad fight off a gang of armed robbers in Pretoria in one of at least 19 violent incidents that Gauteng paramedics dealt with at the weekend.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Mark Stokoe said three people died in the 19 incidents. The shootings took place in Alberton, Pretoria, Boksburg, Krugersdorp, Tembisa, Germiston, Diepsloot and Vrededorp.
In Amandasig in Pretoria, a 12-year-old boy whose family was held up at gunpoint managed to get into the house, take his father’s gun from the safe and pass it to his father.
”As the weapon exchanged hands from the boy to his father, the attackers opened fire. The father was hit in the hand but still managed to cock his gun and return fire,” said Stokoe.
”Bullets flew everywhere with four people shooting wildly in a confined space. Miraculously, injuries were minimal — two of the victims were slightly injured. However, one of the robbers was shot dead at the scene. The 12-year-old boy has now been in three such like incidents and was cool, calm and collected, as his dad said.”
On Sunday, two men were shot and injured in Dunkeld, Johannesburg, when attackers opened fire on them. One of the victims, a surgeon, was hit in the arm and chest and taken to Netcare Milpark hospital in a serious but stable condition, said Stokoe.
The second victim, the surgeon’s friend, was hit in the leg, resulting in a fracture.
Later on Sunday, Netcare paramedics were called to a farm in Kibler Park, Johannesburg, where an 89-year-old man had been bludgeoned to death, apparently with a hammer.
”The man was found lying next to his car in the garage,” said Stokoe. ”At some stage shots were fired at someone who was found hiding away who may have been a suspect; he managed to escape.”
The Netcare ambulance crew was still on that scene when farmworkers ran up to report that a woman had collapsed on another part of the farm.
”She was declared dead on scene,” said Stokoe. ”SAPS [South African Police Service] members were on scene. They had their hands full, with a number of things that needed their attention and investigation.”
On Friday night, an 18-year-old youth was stabbed to death in Honeydew, north of Johannesburg, allegedly by his 15-year-old brother.
”The mom told a Netcare 911 counsellor the older boy violently assaulted her whenever he was drunk; he wrecked the house and broke the TV and furniture. The younger brother could not handle it any more and stood up to protect his mother,” said Stokoe. – Sapa